The 1960s witnessed a radical shift in the nature and function of film criticism which effectively implied a rejection of much that had gone before. This essay examines the nature of the shift, its relations to the political and ideological developments of the period and the implications for previous critical approaches, highlighting in particular the changes evident within the editorial position of the Cahiers du Cinema, the most influential film journal of that time. It is pointed out that the change from the subjective and more purely cinematic approach characteristic of the 1950s to the symptomatic and prescriptive criticism of the following decade was largely due to interdisciplinary influences, especially at the Parisian universities, which provided the primary impetus for the intellectual and artistic ferment of the late 1960s. The essay questions whether the enduring legacy of the 'recondite revolution' has caused significant aspects of the nature and impact of film to be overlooked in the critical literature and also considers whether it has led to an inappropriately condescending attitude to pre-structuralist writings.